If a geek-chic lifestyle came with a primer, it might read something like Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novels. A six-part series influenced equally by rock 'n' roll and old Nintendo games, O'Malley's tale of one hopeless romantic's quest to win the girl of his dreams is filled with relationship-challenged characters who come of age the same way Mario and Luigi battle pixilated turtles — with a kick, a jump and a prayer for a...

The lights were down low in Sylvester Stallone's Beverly Hills office on a recent afternoon so it was impossible to see the 64-year-old movie star's eyes behind his plum-tinted sunglasses. His snug Italian suit emphasized his still-muscular frame as he sat ramrod straight. His face doesn't move much, either, so he seemed like a statue, until he started recounting the moment when he knew that he was becoming expendable. "It was that first Batman movie," he said, referring to the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton, an actor never known for biceps.

Even if Los Angeles fails to woo one of the nation's biggest gatherings of comic book fanatics, the city at least has netted a major conference of computer techies. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to announce Monday that the city will host Microsoft Corp.'s Worldwide Partner Conference 2011, a gathering of the company's staffers and business partners July 10 to 14 next year. The conference is expected to bring about 15,000 attendees, who would spend an estimated $45 million, officials say. It would be one of the biggest gatherings at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

If there is anyone in Hollywood who shouldn't be startled by loud noises, it's Jerry Bruckheimer. Still, on Saturday, the producer behind thundering movies such as "Armageddon," "The Rock" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series looked positively startled by the crowd roar that greeted him at the Moscone Center during an event called WonderCon. After struggling to find his properly assigned seat on stage, Bruckheimer surveyed the 4,500 fans and blinked into the flares and flashes of hundreds of snapping cameras.

Call it a clash of the titans. San Diego has been home to the wildly successful comic book and pop culture convention Comic-Con International for nearly 40 years. But with the four-day festival surging in popularity and outgrowing the San Diego Convention Center, Los Angeles and Anaheim are vying to steal the lucrative show away. "Wherever it goes, that would be a very significant convention to land," said Doug Ducate, president of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, a Dallas-based nonprofit group that tracks the convention and trade show industry.

If you look closely at some of the most popular comic book and collectible characters featured at Comic-Con International in San Diego, you notice some unexpected similarities. "X-Men's" Professor Charles Xavier uses a wheelchair. "Daredevil's" Matt Murdock is blind. "Iron Man's" Tony Stark doesn't have a healthy heart. But it's not just the superheroes who are living with disabilities.

Robert Zemeckis has never been to Comic-Con International in San Diego, and the director's "Disney's A Christmas Carol" seems like an unusual choice for a first appearance. But like several filmmakers heading to this week's colossal fanboy convention, Comic-Con -- with its new 3-D projection system -- offers an exceptional occasion to position upcoming releases. Snippets of film shown at earlier Comic-Cons have helped launch several blockbusters, including "300," "Iron Man" and "Twilight."

IT'S THE Cannes of Capes, the World's Fair for Fanboys, the ultimate Bazaar of the Bizarre. Comic-Con International gets underway today at the San Diego Convention Center and 125,000 fans will attend this frothy celebration -- and hard sell -- of pop culture. Like at a rock festival with multiple stages, you can go to Comic-Con and have an experience completely different from the next fan.

Jenna Jameson's next new lover may be a demon. The porn icon, entrepreneur and bestselling author will be the star of her own comic book, "Shadow Hunter," which she will promote this weekend at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Jameson said Tuesday that she will have "a hands-on role" with the stories in the comic book, which will be published, beginning in December, by Virgin Comics, a company that also has creator deals with Nicolas Cage, John Woo and Guy Ritchie.